West Coast Eagles News

West Coast has stressed the need to sign Nic Naitanui to a long-term contract in order to stave off bids from Gold Coast and GWS.

"It's imperative that we do sign Nic and our all of our young players," Eagles boss Trevor Nisbett said.

"It's also important to keep it in perspective that Nic still has got a hell of a lot to learn.

Melbourne coach Dean Bailey says Jack Watts is aware that stories comparing him to West Coast's Nic Naitanui are going to get written particular after Naitanui impressed in the NAB Cup opener against Essendon.

"Jack's going to go about his business. Jack wants to play as well as he can, as soon as he can for the Melbourne footy club and what's written is written and what's said is said," Bailey said.

"We're not going to be distracted by outside stories that are written - they're going to be written anyway regardless of who it is. But Jack's concentrating on developing his football and we've seen that in the last month, so that's good."

West Coast coach John Worsfold says Nic Naitanui's dominant NAB Cup display has forced him to change the way he plans to use the youngster.

"He's had a really good pre-season this year, so straight away he's miles ahead (of last season). He's fitter, he's grown (and) he's stronger than he was last year. That means he's more equipped to cope with AFL footy," Worsfold said.

"It's opened up a lot of different challenges for us as a match committee."

West Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett says Nic Naitanui and Dean Cox will be a formidable ruck combination for the Eagles in 2010 under coach John Worsfold.

"John's made it clear already that both Dean and Nic will spend a lot of time in the forward line when the other is on the ball," Nisbett said.

"There's no doubt they will both be sharing the workload. John's said that, and that is the great value in having both of them."

A dominant display from West Coast Nic Naitanui gives his side a 35-point NAB Cup win over Essendon at Subiaco.

The young ruckman had 21 hitouts, 7 clearances and kicked 3 goals against the Bombers, earning high praise from Essendon coach Matthew Knights.

"He is the most awesome young talent running around in the game at the present time. The talent, the recovery, the speed and the willingness to keep jumping all night - he really had a special game," Knights said.

Eagles assistant coach Peter Sumich says Chris Masten's brilliant display at the club's first intra-club match was a bonus for the club.

"'Masto' looked sharp running away from packs, whereas over the last probably 12 months with that groin injury he hasn't done that," Sumich said.

"So to come through that game and look sharp is a bonus for us."

Luke Shuey will be given a golden opportunity to put his injury woes behind him when pitted against Daniel Kerr in Wednesday night's intra-club match.

"I don't think he'll keep up with Kerry in some aspects of the game, but I think he'll learn a lot," Eagles coach John Worsfold said.

"It's not a tagging role - it's a role where you're matched up on Kerr, so he's got to make some decisions himself. If he thinks he can win it and read the game better he should get after it."

John Worsfold says gun midfielder Daniel Kerr will spend more time up forward in 2010 in a bid to prolong his career.

"But there's no doubt you'll see Kerrey playing forward probably more than he has in the past," Worsfold said.

"Not to protect him but to get the best out of him, make him add most value to the team."

West Coast captain Darren Glass says he expects Daniel Kerr to return to his best form in 2010 after struggling with injury throughout 2009.

"Kerry has had quite a horror run with injuries and suspensions and all sorts of things holding him back from playing good consistent footy," Glass said.

"But he's up and going this year and he looks pretty sharp on the track."

A pre-Christmas abdominal strain may keep ruckman Dean Cox out of West Coast's NAB Cup match against Essendon.

West Coast wingman Tim Houlihan will have tests on Thursday to determine the severity of an injury sustained at home when he lacerated his foot in a domestic accident.

Arthroscopic knee surgery will delay the comeback of West Coast defender Beau Waters for up to six weeks.

New West Coast recruit Gerrick Weedon will wear retired Eagle David Wirrpanda's No. 44 jumper.

"I've always looked up to 'Wirra' - he was my idol - so I'm pretty proud to wear his number," Weedon said.

"I've always wanted to play AFL footy, that was my dream and this is what I've got. So I'm pretty happy."

A love of the style of football played by the Selwoods has West Coast draftee Koby Stevens looking forward to joining forces with Adam and Scott.

"I've always idolised the Selwood brothers and to be over here with two of them is pretty cool," Stevens said.

"The way they go about their footy, I think they're really professional and they're hard at it. I saw them out there training today and they were just going for it".

West Coast draft pick Brad Sheppard says he will be pushing early for senior selection.

"I'll see how I go with training and everything, but I wouldn't rule myself out of trying to get a game early on," Sheppard said.

"You're not here to have a little ride along, so you want to push for selection first up and hopefully train well."

West Coast is expected to surprise at the national draft when it overlooks wingman Lewis Jetta with its first pick.

The Eagles are believed favour of East Fremantle defender Brad Sheppard instead.

Shannon Hurn and Josh Kennedy have been added to the leadership group at the West Coast Eagles.

"The elevation of Shannon and Josh is indicative of their standing within the squad," senior coach John Worsfold said.

Young West Coast midfielder Luke Shuey's horror injury run continues with a hernia operation.

"It looks like he might have tried to do a little too much over the break, got a bit excited," Eagles assistant coach Daniel Metropolis said.

"But it's minor surgery and we expect in two or three weeks' time he'll be ready to start and get going again.

"So disappointing for him, but we thought it was important to get it fixed now."

West Coast ruckman Dean Cox appears well over his groin troubles as the Eagles begin pre-season training.

West Coast's Beau Waters is finally over his complicated elbow injury and made an early start to pre-season training.

"He's had nearly two years off in a sense, so he's just looking forward to getting out there," assistant coach Sumich said.

"The rehab's gone fine. It's like anything, you've just got to wait and see with the contact and how far he takes that."

Mark Nicoski is on the verge of signing a two-year deal with West Coast, meaning Jamie McNamara has been forced off the club's list.

Sam Butler played a total of 22 games combined last season in the AFL and WAFL, something he is looking forward to making a habit of.

"That's the most I've ever played in a season since I started playing footy. It's something I didn't know I could do," Butler said.

"So to come out of this year knowing that I can is a big boost for my confidence. It gives me the opportunity to play a full season, hopefully back it up with a full pre-season and then hopefully a full season again."

Mark Seaby's desire to join the Swans was driven by the prospect of becoming the club's first-choice big man.

"They were very interested from the start. They said they could see a role for me at the club, so I'm very happy to be here," he said of the Swans.

"Initially it looked like I was going to be playing alongside Darren Jolly and that would have been great, but obviously with his move to Collingwood, there's an opportunity there to be the No. 1 ruckman."

Homesickness was only part of the reason behind Bradd Dalziell's return home to play with West Coast.

"Playing games in Brisbane I was enjoying myself, but being left out of the side got my thinking about other things other than football," Dalziell said.

"I was just a bit frustrated towards the end of the year, not being able to play senior footy [while] playing good footy in the local league.

"This is a good opportunity to come back home and play some good senior footy."

West Coast, the Sydney Swans and the Lions look to have arranged for four players to change clubs.

Amon Buchanan and Brent Staker will head to Brisbane, Sydney will acquire Mark Seaby while the Eagles are set to gain Brad Dalziell.

"It's a good opportunity for him (Buchanan). We had some discussion with him at the end of the year - both us and Amon were undecided - should he stay at Sydney or should he go," Sydney coach Paul Roos said.

"He's a premiership player and a fantastic player, but probably his past couple of years he's been battling a little bit.

"Brisbane was interested, so we were happy to facilitate that, which means we can get Seaby in."

Veteran Eagle Tyson Stenglein retires from AFL football.

"I weighed up a lot of options and I decided that that (retirement) is the best option for me and the footy club going forward," Stenglein said.

"I was once told by a wise man, 'The best time to start thinking about retirement is before the boss does'.

"I've had the privilege of playing alongside and against the best footballers in the country and on the biggest stages."

West Coast captain Darren Glass has won the club's 2009 best and fairest award ahead of Shannon Hurn and Mark LeCras on Friday night.

"I want to get back into pre-season," Glass said.

"I've got lots of things I can work on. I want to add to the offensive side of my game and just keep improving.

"There's no doubt this year we were better defensively as a team and I'm pretty confident we'll make improvements on that again."

Teammate Tyson Stenglein took the opportunity to announce his retirement after 102 games for the Eagles at the awards.

West Coast coach John Worsfold says the Eagles will try and find Brent Staker a new club in trade week after Staker told the Eagles he wanted to explore his options with other teams.

"We obviously don't have to trade him but we have to be clear that we believe we've got the depth here and therefore we can offer to Brent the opportunity to do what he wants to do, which is get the most out of his footy career. We're not going to curtail that," Worsfold said.

"One of Brent's things was he wanted to have a crack at becoming a midfielder. We'd played him as a forward a fair bit. We were supporting that with him and unfortunately the injuries this year prevented any progress in those roles."

Nic Naitanui gives chase to a thief he caught stealing a pair of tracksuit pants from a shop.

"It was nothing superhuman," Naitanui said.

"I think he was a bit shocked to see a big black guy running after him as well.

"It happened pretty quick, he just threw them and kept going."

West Coast Eagle Adam Hunter says his injured shoulder left him with no option other than to retire.

"I've given it every shot and tried to find the best people and tried every avenue to try and get my shoulder right," he said.

"All I wanted to do growing up was play football. There are plenty of opportunities for other things.

"I love footy and I wanted to keep playing until I couldn't. I wanted to keep playing WAFL and then at South Bunbury. So to end like this is a bit of a shame."

Eagles premiership player David Wirrpanda has retired from AFL football after 227 matches saying its time for the Eagles to develop their young talent.

"To be honest I thought at the beginning of the year I was more of a chance of playing on, but the way the boys have come on towards the second half of the year really did open my eyes up to a lot of the younger blokes and the direction they're taking their footy," Wirrpanda said.

"The best thing for them is to get game time, it'll just grow their footy. I thought if I keep playing I'd take that opportunity away from them."

Chad Fletcher plays his final game for the Eagles in an 80-point win against Richmond.

"I've got a handful of really close mates, and a couple of best mates at the footy club who I've been to war with over the last 11 years, so it has been emotional," Fletcher said after the match.

"I find it really fitting for me to go out this way. As an athlete and a natural competitor, you really want to go out with the guernsey on and going around in a cart probably doesn't sit that well.

"It's been a really tough year for me. I could have gone either way at the start of the year and just floated through, but I chose the hard road.

"The harder the road is the sweeter the victory is at the end, I suppose."

West Coast's Adam Hunter will farewell the Eagles fans at Friday night's game against Richmond at Subiaco after succumbing to a shoulder injury that has effectively ended his career.

David Wirrpanda has withdrawn from the West Coast Eagles team tonight as his partner is in labour and expecting the couple's first child.

"Wirrpanda's partner, Shannon McGuire, went into labour this afternoon and he is at her side anxiously awaiting the arrival of the couple's first child," club spokeswoman Anna Carew-Reid said.

"The imminent arrival of Wirrpanda's child has opened the door for Jamie McNamara to play in tonight's game."

Ben Cousins writes about returning to Subiaco to play his old side, West Coast, in the final round of 2009.

"I'm not worked up about it, but it's a game I've been been looking forward to," Cousins wrote.

"I'm curious to see the reception I get. I've got great memories of Subiaco Oval and the Eagles and I have a great sense of the occasion.

"It's another test, and why I wanted to come back and play this year, to test myself.

"The scrutiny or spotlight will be evident, but that's not an issue because it's been a part of my life for so long. Actually, I will enjoy every part of it."

West Coast premiership player Adam Hunter could need a shoulder replacement at the end of this season which could spell the end of his AFL career.

"I don't know what Adam's thinking about his football career, but it's unlikely that he'd be capable of playing AFL football," Eagles coach John Worsfold.

"I don't think he can fix his shoulder.

"Obviously you can explore further things, but the bit I know is that the next major surgery for Adam will basically be a new shoulder, which they don't like to do with people of that age.

"His shoulder is in pretty bad shape."

West Coast champion tall Dean Cox will not return to the field in 2009 after having decided to take a conversative approach towards rehabilitating his groin injury.

"There was just no point trying to push through for the sake of possibly one game," Cox said.

"We have taken a conservative approach with this program and that is certainly the way to go."

West Coast coach John Worsfold says his assistant Peter Sumich still has what it takes to be a senior coach after he missed out on the Richmond job.

"Clubs obviously have processes they go through and Suma is pretty clear on where he sits and what he's aiming to do," Worsfold said.

"He won't apply for all jobs, but there's times where he will apply knowing he may not expect to get on the shortlist, but he'll go through the process for the experience of it and learn.

"He's got all of the capabilities to be a senior coach."

Eagles coach John Worsfold says Chad Fletcher will be moved on and that a farewell game for the midfielder is unlikely.

"I've given that far bit of thought, because Chad's been such a great player for the footy club and achieved so much," Worsfold said.

"The fact that Chad hasn't played for quite a while, my gut feeling is that farewell games are generally for guys that are in the side and playing and you know it's their last game.

"But to bring a player who hasn't been in the side for a number of weeks in just to play a farewell game, I think it's fairly rare - I don't know that there's a lot of value in that."

Daniel Kerr will not play again this year after succumbing to an abdominal injury.

"In the last week Kerr has stepped up his training program in a bid to recover from an abdominal problem with the view to playing senior football again this year," West Coast said in a statement.

"Unfortunately the injury has not responded as Daniel and the medical team had hoped and the decision has been made, in Daniel's long-term interests, to take a more conservative approach to his recovery from the injury."

West Coast coach John Worsfold says stars Daniel Kerr and Dean Cox will probably not play again this season due to injury.

"When the season finishes we can't stop them from doing anything and think we've fixed the problem," Worsfold said.

"We need to make sure we have. So that means getting them up to a point where they could play. That's a gradual build-up.

"And from there we hope we know we've fixed the problem and then they can have their break and prepare for the pre-season."

West Coast premiership ruckman Mark Seaby will be considered for Saturday's clash with the Western Bulldogs even though he will probably leave the club at season's end.

"Seabs is still a very valuable member of our team," Eagles coach John Worsfold said.

"We'll consider playing him this week looking at what we're going up against."

Young Eagle Tom Swift repays the faith shown in him by West Coast with a standout display against Essendon after notching 23 disposals and 2 goals.

"It's only my second win for the club and it's always a good feeling. I'm pretty ecstatic about that. It's always a good feeling to kick a couple of goals as well," Swift said.

"I'm pretty young in terms of AFL football and senior football in general. I've only played nine WAFL games and that was my sixth AFL game, so I'm still learning the ropes. When I have the guys I do here to learn off, it makes it a lot easier."

West Coast has re-signed Andrew Embley for a further two years.

"It really is an exciting time for the football club," Embley said.

"I am very keen to be a part of the club's rise back up the premiership table and look forward to helping a lot of the young players on our list enjoy the success we achieved only a couple of years ago.

"I very much want to be a part of the future and believe it can turn around very quickly given the talent at the club."

West Coast coach John Worsfold says Adam Hunter will need to weigh up his options at the end of the season as he battles a shoulder injury.

"It's going to be a matter of him weighing up, with the advice he gets from the surgeons and doctors that he's spoken to, what that means for his long-term life, how much damage he's doing to his shoulder," Worsfold said.

"It's a bit like when players end their careers with no cartilage left in their knee - they can play and they have touch-up surgery every year, but they play in pain and they're wrecking their knees as they go.

"It sounds as though his shoulder's heading that way. If he can't play at 100 per cent, it's going to be hard for him to be a good AFL player."

West Coast's misfiring forwards have been put on notice, with in-form rookie Callum Wilson on the verge of elevation.

"He's in the best form, well and truly. When you're in that good form, he's really forcing us to say, 'Let's look at giving him the opportunity'," Eagles coach John Worsfold said.

"Callum is pushing up and every forward in our team would know that Callum's in the best form in the WAFL - he's kicking goals every week and therefore he could come in."

West Coast speedster Tim Houlihan's return to side comes after frank chat with coach John Worsfold.

"It doesn't really come in my nature, but after I'd played four really good games and hadn't got into the squad, I sat down with (recruiting manager) Trevor Woodhouse and came up with some questions and went and spoke to 'Woosh' about what I need to do to get into the mix," Houlihan said.

West Coast coach John Worsfold has sought answers from AFL umpires manager Jeff Gieschen over negating tactics used against young ruckman Nic Naitanui against Port Adelaide.

"There's no doubt against Lade and Brogan on the weekend they really worked hard to take his run away - fair to say that the umpires have admitted as much," Worsfold said.

"We've asked Jeff [Gieschen] about where it sits and asked queries on a few centre bounces from the weekend.

"We've said, 'What's the deal?' Jeff has said, 'They should have been free kicks'."

West Coast's Chris Masten is the 2009 NAB AFL Rising Star nominee after notching 38 touches against Port Adelaide in round 16.

Masten says he was surprised to find out that he was even eligible.

"I wasn't actually sure I was still eligible. I didn't realise the 10 games came into it," Masten said.

"I didn't really know about it until I saw something in the paper written up before the season started. I didn't set my goals for being nominated but it I'm pretty honoured to get one."

Second-gamer Patrick McGinnity impresses with a classy goal in West Coast's loss to Port Adelaide where he tallied 13 disposals and 2 clearances.

"I just saw the ball, picked it up and put it on the boot. It was pretty lucky," McGinnity conceded after the match.

"It was a pretty good feeling. I was really excited and the boys were pretty happy."

West Coast midfielder Daniel Kerr is certain he is not battling osteitis pubis as he prepares to seek specialist treatment in Adelaide on his mystery injury.

"I definitely feel like it is not the same pain I had in 1999 when I was a schoolboy where I had pretty severe osteitis pubis, I don't think it's that," he said.

Dean Cox and Daniel Kerr will spend at least the next fortnight on the sidelines as the Eagles attempt to diagnose their mystery injuries.

The duo will visit a specialist in Adelaide this week in a bid to get the bottom of their complaints, which West Coast medical staff believe are groin related.

"Both players are going to fly to Adelaide with the team on Friday to see a specialist ... just for another opinion on what he thinks may be happening, so that's the next step," Eagles coach John Worsfold said.

"The issue is the soreness they've got came on reasonably suddenly but it hasn't gone suddenly, that's the concern."

Eagles ruckman and regular All-Australian Dean Cox could miss the rest of 2009 due to a debilitating groin injury.

"That's a medical decision really so we'll get their advice on all that," Eagles coach John Worsfold said.

"His groin got sore so we really limited his ruck work and ground time, specifically in the second half.

"We now have to reassess where it's at.

"The fact it got sore so quickly is disappointing and we have to work out what the best program is for him."

West Coast midfielder Matt Priddis says he enjoyed taking on Saints tagger Clinton Jones - again.

Priddis and Jones were no strangers to one another having played plenty of big WAFL games against one another when Priddis was at Subiaco and Jones at South Fremantle before the two went on to AFL careers.

"Clint has had a fantastic year and it's a different role for him. He previously had always been a wingman, but this year has been a tagging midfielder and has had a fantastic season," Priddis said.

"It was good to have another battle with him. His role now is a lot more in and under, and a negating role and it's different for him, but he's definitely been a great positive for St Kilda this year."

West Coast's all-time leading goalkicker and premiership assistant Peter Sumich puts his name in the hat for the Tigers' top job and says he is better position for a senior gig than he was in 2007.

"I'm better prepared, but I thought I prepared and gave a great presentation for the Essendon job and went very close," Sumich said.

"So I'll just bowl along and see what happens. It's out of my hands. If I get the opportunity, just give it your best shot and that's it."

Melbourne coach Dean Bailey says Colin Sylvia's suspension after striking Eagle Scott Selwood will have a big impact on the club.

"He's a player we're going to miss because he does kick goals and he does create some run through the middle of the ground which he's been really focused on this year, so ... it's disappointing it happened and we think playing the footy is more important than anything else," Bailey said.

"He's let us down, he's let the club down but I know that Col was really disappointed."

The match review panel offers Melbourne Colin Sylvia four weeks for striking Scott Selwood, Jared Brennan gets offered one-week for headbutting Josh Carr and Troy Chaplin two weeks for striking Daniel Rich.

Jim Stynes was awake and feeling optimistic in his hospital bed yesterday afternoon, watching his beloved Demons on television defeat West Coast after an operation that doctors hope will save his life.

West Coast assistant coach Daniel Metropolis says onballer Daniel Kerr and ruckman Dean Cox could have played this weekend, but the club is pursuing a safety-first policy.

Cox has a groin injury and Kerr is suffering from general soreness and neither player made the trip to freezing Melbourne for Saturday afternoon's clash with the Demons.

"Coxy still just pulled up a little bit sore on Thursday after training. He wanted to play, but we thought it was best that if he's not quite right we'd give him another week to settle down," Metropolis said.

"Kerry's just been a bit sore over the last few weeks. Again we thought he could play, but it was in his best interests to get himself right and get him up and going for the latter part of the year.

"So they should only be another week away."

Melbourne coach Dean Bailey says his players can rally around ill president Jim Stynes by beating West Coast on Saturday.

"The emotion side of it is going to be the real key," Bailey said.

"We don't want the players to have played the game before they get there.

"We've got to make sure the focus is on winning the contested ball and winning the game. We don't want to overstate it and we don't want to understate it because Jim has been such a revelation to the club.

"He's brought trust and integrity beyond what we would think. We do need to rally around him and support him. There's no doubt about that and the way the players can do that is to really perform well."

Eagle Nic Naitanui is aware of the hype his first three goals in the AFL created, but embarrassed by the praise.

"The blokes that kick goals always get noticed the most, but I thought I had a pretty poor game - I think I'd only had one or two touches beforehand," Naitanui said.

"Our ruck coach came up to me at three-quarter time and told me, 'you've got to do something to redeem yourself,' so that sort of motivated me.

"But I think it came down to luck at the end of the day."

Adelaide Crows recruiter Matt Rendell says the decision to pick Patrick Dangerfield ahead of local South Australian product Bradley Ebert in 2008 was correct.

"Ebert is making his mark over in WA. West Coast is really happy with him and I'm glad because I really liked him as a player," Rendell said.

"We just thought Dangerfield was going to give us something that we didn't have on our list; some break-the-lines speed and massive intensity. So far, that's how it's turned out and it hasn't surprised me knowing the character of the bloke."

AIS-AFL high performance coach Jason McCartney has called for people to lay off Jack Watts.

"Jack Watts has copped a bit of heat unnecessarily," McCartney said on Wednesday at Docklands, the venue for the final day of the NAB AFLUnder-18 Championships.

"You can't compare him to Nic Naitanui, or Daniel Rich. Daniel Rich has played in two premierships for Subiaco - and has a big, strong body. Nic Naitanui played a year of senior football last year.

"Jack Watts is a schoolboy, who has played four TAC Cup games. It's hard to really compare those boys who get the opportunity to play some senior footy, it probably does help them."

Eagles coach John Worsfold says ruckman Dean Cox is expected to be fit for this week, but needs to prove himself at training.

"We're confident that he'll get up," Worsfold said.

"It was a very minor strain and one that we would expect would have healed by now, (but) you're always just making sure that there's nothing else other than that as well.

"There's no caution taken into account. If he's fit he'll play."

Dean Cox could spend a second straight game on the sidelines with a groin injury.

West Coast's new cult hero Nic Naitanui has penned a new AFL deal with the Eagles, along with defenders Mitchell Brown and Eric Mackenzie.

"They are the future of the club and securing them for another contract is important for our club," operations manager Neale Daniher said.

"This is a very exciting time for our football club and those three young men are all integral in our plans."

David Wirrpanda says the future looks bright after a host of young stars shone in the club's win over Hawthorn.

Young ruckman Nicholas Naitanui, in particular, was impressive with three crucial goals to sink the Hawks in just his second game.

"As a young bloke you have expectations that are thrown on you that you don't deserve and he's one of those players that has had the whole footy world waiting to see what he can do," Wirrpanda said.

"He showed glimpses of it in his first game and this was only his second, so what he could end up doing is kind of frightening if he develops over the next three or four years as a senior player."

West Coast assistant Peter Sumich has been cleared by Eagles management to mount a bid to win a senior coaching position.

"We would be very supportive of 'Suma' if he was interested in applying for a senior job," Eagles chief executive Trevor Nisbett said.

"He has the experience of coaching his own team and great experience with building a team, winning a premiership and now rebuilding a team.

"We have no problem at all in supporting him, as we have in the past.

"There's no problem with an application going in now as there is never a good time and he has always been very committed to us."

John Worsfold will remain at the helm of the Eagles until the end of 2011 after agreeing to a two-year contract extension.

Worsfold was offered the new contract last week after meeting with chief executive Trevor Nisbett.

But the 2006 premiership coach wasn't happy with the finer details of the initial deal and only put pen to paper once some changes were made.

"With Worsfold continuing for at least another two years it allows him to continue to develop an exciting young list and to further evolve a coaching infra-structure which came together this season with a plan to see the club begin its ascent up the ladder," a statement released on the club website said.

"The re-appointment of Worsfold will allow him to continue his work in revamping a young squad which has undergone enormous change in the last couple of years to be among the youngest of AFL playing lists."

St Kilda ruckman Michael Gardiner will play his 150th AFL game this weekend, overcoming questions surrounding his future when he was traded by West Coast to the Saints in 2006.

"He's built a lot of trust here," St Kilda coach Ross Lyon said.

"He looked me in the eye and said; 'This is what I'm committing to', and he met our senior group and more importantly said; 'This is what I can do and this is the guarantee I can give you'.

"Looking back two-and-a-half years later I think we sit with some satisfaction and some pleasure for Michael that he's been able to deliver on that."

Gold Coast has set a deadline of mid-season next year to inform coach Guy McKenna whether it will hire him as the club's first senior AFL coach.

Dean Cox will not face reigning premiers Hawthorn in Subiaco due to a groin injury.

Geelong will welcome back captain Tom Harley for Sunday's clash with Port Adelaide at Skilled Stadium.

Harley missed the Cats' last two games against West Coast and Fremantle - both in Perth - but coach Mark Thompson confirmed his captain had recovered with the benefit of the split round.

"He's going to play this week - he's ticked all the boxes," Thompson said.

Eagles coach John Worsfold claims he will step away from the Eagles at the end of his next contract if he doesn't feel he is the right man to lead the club to a premiership.

Eagles coach John Worsfold has welcomed the possibility of Dean Laidley joining his star-studded football department, suggesting a spot could be manufactured to accommodate him.

"You always look at personnel that could potentially make your place better," Worsfold said.

"If I said there was a vacant spot right there now, no, there's not. But that can be manufactured at times.

"I know Dean pretty well - I've played with him and obviously coached against him.

"He's a ripper bloke, he's hard as nails and he's committed. He's done a very good job with all the things he's done."

Despite losing more games than he would have liked Eagles coach John Worsfold says the team is achieving some of its goals.

Worsfold said putting an end to the heavy defeats was high up on his board's agenda for 2009.

"It was certainly one of the key focuses for what the board expected," Worsfold said.

"Obviously we don't focus on not having big losses, we want to win every game, but one of the areas the board wanted to see improvement in was that we weren't going to get blown off the park with massive margins.

"So we have improved in that area."

Nic Naitanui has had his first taste of AFL action but is set to receive an even bigger slice of the pie against Hawthorn on Saturday night.

With four-time All-Australian ruckman Dean Cox struggling to overcome a groin complaint, Naitanui could be thrust into the lead ruck role against the Hawks in just his second game.

West Coast ruckman Dean Cox has a groin complaint and is likely to miss this weekend against Hawthorn.

Besieged West Coast rover Daniel Kerr is in urgent need of reinforcements around stoppages and champion ruckman Dean Cox wants teammates to protect Kerr as the Eagles' most important play initiator.

"We've got to make sure our best playmakers are free," Cox says.

"He's going to be tagged and held on to, but if we can just free him up a bit more it is good for our side to get him back to running with the ball, clearing the footy.

"If 'Kerry' is getting held on to and we can free him up, we're going to be a better side and Daniel will be playing the best footy he can for us.

"So we've got to make it more difficult for his tagger to stop him getting a good run at the football."

Richmond forward Jack Riewoldt has accepted the match review panel's penalty of a reprimand for striking Eagle Daniel Kerr.

Jack Riewoldt has been charged by the match review panel with striking Eagle Daniel Kerr.

The young Tiger can accept a reprimand and 93.75 demerit points if he pleads guilty to the incident which occurred in the first quarter of Richmond's win.

West Coast will continue to present draftee Nic Naitanui with games if his form and fitness warrant it after the gifted ruckman made his debut against the Tigers.

"He's very exciting - really pleased with the way he went but, again, you can see how nervous and young they look in their first hit-outs," Eagles coach John Worsfold said after the match.

"But he obviously shows a lot of promise.

"Depending on how he's travelling, if he's bringing something to the team then we'll certainly try to keep him going. That's how he's going to learn the best."

Richmond gives caretaker coach Jade Rawlings a first-up win in the AFL after the Tigers defeat West Coast, Ben Cousins' old side.

West Coast assistant coach Scott Burns is the latest to throw his support behind onballer Daniel Kerr's counter-aggression after Kerr was suspended for flying the flag for his teammates.

"I was rapt with what he did against Carlton," Burns said.

"I was a bit surprised with what happened after that but I thought that was fantastic.

"I'd say to him, if someone is going to drop one of our players you get over there pretty quick and make sure that we're not going to stand for that.

"The only poor thing was his record leading up to that which cost him. That was it."

West Coast will finally blood Nick Naitanui, with the teenage ruckman to make his much anticipated debut against Richmond tomorrow night.

"We're not expecting him to come in and dominate the competition," Eagles coach John Worsfold said.

"We're expecting him to come in like you'd expect from any first-year player and just do his best and learn and start his career and build on it week to week."

West Coast coach John Worsfold says he is doing his homework on new Richmond coach Jade Rawlings.

"We've got Warren Kofoed (former Richmond rehab and conditioning coach) at the club who's worked closely with Jade, so we have an idea what he's all about.

"But we don't really know if he's going to bring his own ideas or stick with what the players have been working on this year."

West Coast coach John Worsfold could be re-signed by the Eagles as early as next week.

"I'm hoping that when I open my office door on Monday morning there may be something waiting, but who knows," Worsfold said.

"We haven't got to that point yet. I'll just go with the flow, deal with it as it's there. I'm pretty comfortable with where I sit at the moment."

It is the game West Coast and Richmond fans have been waiting all year to see - Tiger Ben Cousins up against his former club.

While most of the AFL world is buzzing in anticipation ahead of Saturday's mouthwatering duel at Etihad Stadium, Eagles coach John Worsfold insists he's not one of them.

"I would expect that there's interest in it for a lot of people,'' Worsfold said.

"A lot of West Coast people will watch the game with an interest in how Ben goes and depending on their personal stance on it they'll either hope he goes well or won't be fussed.

"It's out of my control.

"It doesn't affect our preparation.''

Prized draft pick Nick Naitanui has shown enough to play at the elite level, but West Coast isn't setting a date for his debut.

"His form has improved week-to-week. So he's now ready to play at the highest level if that opportunity is there for him," Eagles coach John Worsfold said.

"We're not expecting him to come in and dominate the competition. We're expecting him to come in like you'd expect [from] any first-year player and just do his best and learn and start his career and build on it week-to-week.

"Our expectations are really long-term what he'll bring the footy club."

The West Coast Eagles have re-signed young midfielder Brad Ebert.

"It is an exciting time at the club and with such a young list, we are all looking forward to achieving big things together," Ebert said.

West Coast assistant coach Peter Sumich says he still has senior coaching ambitions but is going to take a low-key approach to the Richmond vacancy.

"There's no doubt I do," Sumich said when asked if he had aspirations to become a head coach.

"Where it ends up at the end of the year with Richmond and what they want to do, that's up to them.

"That's out of my control. I just play it low-key.

"When it all comes out later on in the year we'll see what happens."

West Coast assistant coach Peter Sumich says Daniel Kerr's one-week ban was worth it because he 'flew the flag' for teammates.

"Daniel unfortunately cops a week, and he wears that, but I think our club and the younger players will look at that and say, 'Well he flew the flag and we're pretty rapt with that'," Sumich said.

"I think Daniel's been terrific in that area.

"That's his call and a spur of the moment decision, but I thought it was a bit of tit for tat to be honest with you, that's the way it looked."

Daniel Kerr is on the sidelines for a match after an attempt to have his hit on Carlton's Marc Murphy characterised as a bump, rather than a strike, was tossed out by the AFL Tribunal last night.

Kerr told the tribunal by videolink that in knocking Murphy to the ground at the opening bounce of last Friday night's game, he was merely copying an earlier hit by Bret Thornton upon Matt Rosa.

"I proceeded to bump the closest Carlton player in the same fashion, and that happened to be Marc Murphy."

Nic Naitanui is in the mix to make his highly-anticipated AFL debut in Sunday's clash with Geelong at Subiaco Oval.

"Fitness wise he's getting close to being ready to being capable of playing AFL footy," Eagles coach John Worsfold said today.

"Form wise and requirement wise for our team - that will now be assessed weekly in terms of when he's ready."

John Worsfold has backed star pair Dean Cox and Daniel Kerr as they struggle with form and discipline.

"Some of the goals he set up from stoppages, winning the ball and getting it out while under a full tackle were outstanding," Worsfold said of Kerr.

"As our side improves, he'll then win some of the easy possessions as well. But at the moment he is having to knuckle down and get in for the team and do the real hard grunt work."

Cox on the other hand has been criticised for not working hard enough.

"I'm not really sure where all of this is coming from," Worsfold said of the criticism.

"Because some of the people that are criticising him were also comparing him to Polly Farmer eight months ago, so something drastic has happened - I'm not sure what, but it's just a bit of a whim from some people to talk about that."

Brian Lake, Daniel Kerr and Mitch Robinson will contest charges at the tribunal tonight.

The Dogs have accepted a ban for key forward Scott Welsh but decided to get backman Brian Lake available for Friday night's game against Richmond.

Hawthorn captain Sam Mitchell has virtually a one-game penalty hanging over him again despite being allowed to escape with a reprimand from a striking charge.

West Coast ruckman Dean Cox says the young Eagles team will take time to develop, but has laid the blame for their poor season as the feet of the experienced players.

"Certainly a lot of senior players were to blame - everyone goes 'it must be the younger players' but the senior players need to take an ownership in obviously leading this football club," he said.

"We need to make sure when we have the footy in our hands we execute the way we want to and try and drag the kids along with us."

West Coast coach John Worsfold says young ruckman Nick Naitanui could make his AFL debut against Geelong in round 11.

"He would be a chance to be in the mix," Worsfold said.

"We just really want to test him out in terms of overall workload."

West Coast premiership utility Adam Hunter will play his 150th match in Friday night's clash with Carlton after missing three games with a shoulder injury.

"Hunts always looked like that bloke you go to when you needed that lift or a goal or some courageous act in the defensive part of the ground," assistant coach Scott Burns said.

"He's one of those players that a lot of coaches and teammates would like to have in their team because he is very coachable, hard at it and just a competitor. He doesn't want to be beaten.

"Coming from Melbourne to Perth, I can definitely see how much he is respected by the coaching staff and his teammates."

Eagles coach John Worsfold is confident Daniel Kerr's demons have not returned despite frustration appearing to get the better of the star Eagle last week.

"Yes we've spoken to him and he's feeling well and truly in control and feels as though his best form is not far away," Worsfold said.

"He found a fair bit of the football but he was disappointed with his use of it the other night. But he's working pretty hard.

"It's no excuse but with his groin injury he hadn't really been able to kick the ball at training for a few weeks so he was certainly rusty going into the game, but he'll be better this week."

John Worsfold has thrown his support behind Terry Wallace and Mick Malthouse, saying he knows just how they feel.

"I'm in pretty much the same boat and we are all coming out of contract," Worsfold said on Tuesday.

""I understand what Terry Wallace is going through, what Mark Harvey went through in the first few rounds and what Mick is going through.

"I also know that those guys are the types of characters that deal with it quite comfortably."

West Coast veteran David Wirrpanda looks ahead to the AFL's Indigenous Round this weekend.

"It's been well highlighted for the last couple of years now the importance of Indigenous Round for recognition of a lot of indigenous players before me," Wirrpanda said.

"When you look at the history of AFL footy, the stance that Michael Long took really did change the face of footy and really did make a massive difference within the football world.

"Players like myself, I never ever witnessed any racial abuse at all. Creating a cultural awareness was very important, not only for indigenous people, but all cultures right through the AFL.

"I haven't had any contact with that racial abuse whatsoever, so it goes to show that we're a clean sport, and we're professional as well."

Saturday night's clash between Eagle Dean Cox and Swan Darren Jolly will pit two of the game's in-form ruckmen.

"He is the elite ruckman in the competition and I think everyone wants to have a go at him," Jolly said of Cox.

"Dean is obviously an elite ruckman and I'd class him as a midfielder as well. He's got a huge engine, a huge tank. It's a big effort to try and run with him and it's something I'll try and counter this week.

"I enjoy the challenge of trying to go out there and beat him, but so far, I think he's beaten me every single time, so I'm really looking forward to Saturday."

On-going shoulder problems will force Adam Hunter to miss this weekend's game against Sydney Swans at ANZ Stadium.

Star West Coast on-baller Daniel Kerr will be assessed ahead of Saturday's clash with the Sydney Swans after scans reveal an adductor strain.

Eagle Sam Butler lauds the contribution of Adam Selwood after Sunday's win over Melbourne.

Selwood is currently averaging 24 disposals in 2009.

"I can only really talk for the midfield, but having 'Sellers', with his voice and obviously his leadership when he's around the ball, he's amazing," Butler said after the win against the Demons.

"He leads the way and you can't really hide from (players like) them; if you're not bringing the same kind of effort, you stand out like a sore thumb.

"He's been really good back in the midfield, where I think he belongs."

West Coast's Josh Kennedy is ready to play himself into form at AFL level after returning to the side following knee and shoulder injuries.

"Josh will come in and give a great account of himself," assistant coach Daniel Metropolis said.

"He's been playing some good footy and we expect that he'll do well.

"So he'll definitely get the opportunity to do well for us this week and we'd like to think he'll play some consecutive games for us and get some good form up."

Ashley Hansen could be the latest high-profile player to get the axe as John Worsfold reacts to the derby loss.

West Coast could send Daniel Kerr in for blood tests after he struggled through the 13-point western derby loss to Fremantle.

Kerr suffered severe cramping during the match while vomiting several times.

Hamstring tightness will keep West Coast recruit Nick Naitanui from playing for Swan Districts reserves this weekend.

West coast defender Eric Mackenzie is ready to face the challenge of playing on Lance Franklin according to coach John Worsfold.

West Coast recruit Nick Naitanui will this week line up with WAFL side Swan Districts and play his first competitive game since being drafted to the club last November.

Naitanui has been recovering from precautionary knee surgery performed in early January.

Jason Akermanis has been suspended for one match for tripping Eagle Mark Nicoski.

West Coast star Daniel Kerr plans not to let taggers get under his skin in 2009.

"It's just a matter of putting it out of your mind and just accepting that I'm going to have a tag on me every week and just learn to play with it," Kerr said.

West Coast Eagles coach John Worsfold says the players that were part of last weekend's thumping loss will get one more chance to prove themselves.

West Coast coach John Worsfold says he won't move Daniel Kerr away from the action to beat tags believing that Kerr has the ability to beat tags.

"He's good enough to beat these blokes and he still had a good impact on the game for us on the weekend," Worsfold said.

"We'd rather him take them on and be in the game than hiding him somewhere else where he's not in the game."

Matt Priddis says lapses during games are costing West Coast dearly and were behind the Eagles heavy loss to St Kilda on Saturday.

West Coast coach John Worsfold has slammed his team's effort against St Kilda, calling his players "mentally weak" after the Eagles lost by 97 points.

"Those sorts of losses are unacceptable to that degree. There is no doubt we were outplayed by a far superior side, but to the extent is where it was disappointing," Worsfold said.

Port Adelaide football manager Peter Rohde says the decision to take Daniel Motlop's charge to the tribunal was difficult.

Port Adelaide's 'calculated gamble' at the AFL tribunal paid off on Tuesday night when star forward Daniel Motlop was cleared of striking Eagle Adam Hunter.

The West Coast Eagles have a strong record against St Kilda and coach John Worsfold says they want it to continue.

West Coast coach John Worsfold pays high praise to Adam Selwood after his great game against Port Adelaide.

Matthew Rosa was one of a number of significant midfield contributors in West Coast's big win over Port Adelaide.

Port Adelaide goalsneak Daniel Motlop is booked for striking West Coast's Adam Hunter.

West Coast assistant coach Scott Burns believes heavily-tagged midfielder Daniel Kerr should get more free kicks than he does.

West Coast coach John Worsfold says he still has faith in Mark Seaby's ability as a part-time forward, despite the ruckman's humble round one performance against the Brisbane Lions.

Seaby provided good back up for ruckman Dean Cox but failed to have an impact when pushed forward, taking two marks and failing to trouble the scorers with his nine touches.

Worsfold said Seaby's spot in the side for this week's clash with Port Adelaide had not been discussed yet, adding that the expectations on his back-up big man were "a little bit over the top at times".

"We're pretty happy with his ruck work. In terms of the time he spent up forward he didn't deliver what we believe he can deliver," Worsfold said.

West Coast coach John Worsfold says they will not rush Nick Naitanui into the Eagles side.

Worsfold said Naitanui, the No.2 pick in last year's NAB AFL Draft was still three to four weeks away from being considered for selection after undergoing pre-season knee surgery.

"There's no pressure building on him. He's in a rehab program and we're in no rush," Worsfold said.

"We want him to be an exceptional player at this club for a long period of time. We'll just take our time to get him absolutely fit and ready to play."

Johsn Worsfold says he's confident of regaining Adam Selwood and Adam Hunter for Sunday's clash with Port Adelaide.

Darren Glass says it is down to the Eagles playing group to fix the worrying trend of going missing for crucial periods in matches.

Michael Voss says Daniel Rich's game against West Coast surpassed his expectations.

Adam Hunter may need more time before playing in the AFL, says John Worsfold.

John Worsfold is one of seven coaches out of contract at season's end but the Eagles coach says being re-signed is a matter of achieving his goals this season.

Boxer Danny Green says he would be staggered if Barry Hall threw another knockout punch on the field like the one that felled Brent Staker.

Green yesterday described the lengths Hall is going to contain his aggression on the field, including being "cracked in the head" by the Australian boxing champion.

Scott Burns brings knowledge of Mick Malthouse and Nathan Buckley to the Eagles' brains trust.

John Worsfold hasn't decided whether to include Adam Hunter in his team for the first-round clash with Brisbane on Saturday night.

Hunter, who underwent a shoulder reconstruction midway through last season, has been troubled by pain in the joint over the summer and did not feature in any of the Eagles' pre-season fixtures.

West Coast defender Beau Waters has ruled himself out of the 2009 AFL season due to a serious elbow injury.

Dean Cox is a certain starter for Round 1 despite nursing a fractured cheekbone.

West Coast's first captain Ross Glendinning has been named the club's new number one ticket holder.